


stay out of trouble

by tattooedsiren



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: M/M, Season/Series 06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 08:57:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7634011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tattooedsiren/pseuds/tattooedsiren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been a week now. Seven days of Mike in this hellhole, and in that time Harvey has made daily trips to Danbury, never for a good reason, never just to see Mike in the hopes of brightening his day with a visit. No, it’s been a week of fighting over Gallo, Mike not wanting his help one day and then getting angry Harvey isn’t doing more the next. Harvey doesn’t blame him. Mike’s just doing his best to survive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	stay out of trouble

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by a wonderful anon [message](http://tattooedsiren.tumblr.com/post/148071482249/i-was-just-picturing-harvey-using-trouble-as-a#notes) I got on tumblr. It was supposed to just be a short little tumblr fic, but as is my wont the length got slightly out of hand, so I'm posting it as it's own fic and not part of _all the words in the world may not be enough_.
> 
> Spoilers up to 603, but I ignored that whole ‘Mike needs to inform on Kevin to get out early’ thing.
> 
> **ETA: Can't believe I even need to say this, but don't put my fics on goodreads. If I find out this has happened again I'll need to consider locking my fics.**

Harvey practically skips into the prison.

He can’t remember the last time he felt so light. The corrections officer who checks him in gives him one of the most epic side-eyes he’s ever seen - and he’s seen quite a few in his time - but he doesn’t care. Nothing can ruin this day. He’s lead into the visiting room, and after sitting at the table for a minute he’s up out of his chair again, pacing the small room, too nervous to sit still and wait.

It’s been a week now. Seven days of Mike in this hellhole, and in that time he has made daily trips to Danbury, never for a good reason, never just to see Mike in the hopes of brightening his day with a visit. No, it’s been a week of fighting over Gallo, Mike not wanting his help one day and then getting angry Harvey isn’t doing more the next. Harvey doesn’t blame him. Mike’s just doing his best to survive. But now, thankfully, surviving is going to get a whole lot easier.

Mike finally enters the room. He looks exhausted. He doesn’t seem surprised to see Harvey, but when Harvey smiles at him Mike’s features twist into something akin to confused hope.

“What is it?” Mike asks, before the guard has even closed the door.

Harvey tips his head, and they take a seat at opposite sides of the table.

“It’s over,” Harvey tells him, grinning around the words. “Cahill came through. Gallo is being transferred.”

It’s like all the air escapes Mike’s body and he sinks in his chair, relieved. “Are you  _ sure _ ?”

Harvey nods. “I saw the paperwork. It’s real. He’s leaving tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Mike says urgently, and in a moment his hand is covering Harvey’s, squeezing tightly. “Harvey, thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Mike. It’s my fault you’re in here, the least I could do is get rid of someone who wants to hurt you solely because you know me.”

“I thought we agreed it was my own damn fault I ended up here.”

Harvey places a hand on top of Mike’s and says, “I propose a deal. We agree that we’re both idiots and are equally responsible and we never speak of this again.”

Mike smiles, the action slow, like he’s forgotten how. “Deal.”

Harvey squeezes his hand once more, and then they both sit back in their chairs and just look at each other for a moment.

But then a guard opens the door, and they both turn their attention to him. “Okay, Ross, time’s up.”

“It’s been one minute!” Mike protests.

“It’s okay,” Harvey says, and Mike looks back at him, almost hurt. “Visiting hours are pretty much over. I’ll make sure I’m here with more time to spare tomorrow.”

“You’re coming back?” Mike asks, almost amazed, like now that the threat is gone he’d expected to never see Harvey again, as though that was the only reason he’s been visiting Mike.

“Of course I am,” Harvey tells him earnestly. “Every day that I can, until the day you can walk out of here.”

Mike seems more like himself when he stands, and before he leaves Harvey calls his name. “Stay out of trouble,” he says teasingly.

Mike chuckles. “Yeah, you too.”

 

 

*

 

 

Harvey goes back to visit Mike the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that.

Thank God he’s listed as Mike’s attorney, otherwise his visiting privileges would’ve run out by now.

Mike still isn’t back to normal, but he definitely looks lighter and much more rested since Gallo left. The new Big Bad amongst the prisoners has plenty of grudges already, so Mike keeps his head down and stays out of the way, and so far he’s had no trouble.

He tells Harvey about his cellmate Kevin, the one true friend he has in this place. He tells Harvey about the counselor, who says he can’t do something one day but then comes through the next and leaves Mike dizzy with his inconsistencies. He tells Harvey about working in the kitchen and he jokes that he may have found a career option for when he gets out of here.

In return Harvey tells him about the latest ridiculousness with Louis and their tenants, or about the new client that he’s landed. He doesn’t think Mike would want to hear about it at first, but more often than not Mike brings up the subject before Harvey can, asking after Jessica and Louis, or wanting to know what case he’s working on.

He never asks after Rachel, and Harvey never volunteers anything. He knows Rachel visits as much as she can, which between work at PSL and law school and her work on the Innocence Project isn’t often, and he doesn’t think telling Mike how much Rachel misses him will help anyone.

It isn’t the same as before. There are moments where the silence lingers too long between them, or when Harvey talks to Mike about someone like Mike knows them but then he realizes halfway through his story that no, Mike has no idea who he’s talking about. There are days where Mike is more melancholy than usual, and all Harvey gets are one word answers. But there are good days too, days where Mike is bright and optimistic, where it feels like despite the fact that they are now worlds apart in circumstances nothing has really changed.

And every time Harvey visits, when they part ways, Harvey will smile and tell Mike, “Stay out of trouble.”

 

 

*

 

 

It takes long months of hard work, groveling, and reminding certain people that they know where their bodies are buried, but Pearson Specter Litt slowly gets back on track.

It’s not the same as it was before, far from it. But things do improve. Slowly but surely the hallways become more populated and Harvey sees faces other than Jessica, Louis, Donna, Rachel, Gretchen, and Benjamin. It’s a strange dichotomy, dealing with multi-million dollar clients with the same resources as a small startup firm would have. But they make it work, somehow.

Finding lawyers who want to work for them after the publicity around Mike is difficult, but Harvey won’t sweep Mike under the rug, he won’t pretend like he was never here. He makes a kind of game of it: every lawyer they interview not only gets asked their opinion about Mike but Harvey questions how they would get Mike out of jail early. The ones who come up with interesting or promising suggestions get hired.

“You’re never giving up on him, are you?” Jessica asks late one night, the office quiet, a scotch in both their hands.

Jessica has been scolding to him on more than one occasion over his propensity to just drop everything at a moment's notice whenever Mike needed something and Harvey rushed over to Danbury for him. But this doesn’t sound like a rebuke. It sounds like a moment of realization, and whatever it is that Jessica thinks she knows, Harvey has no idea. At any rate, it doesn’t matter, his answer is the same.

“Never.”

 

 

*

 

 

Harvey wouldn’t have thought it possible, given how many of his waking hours are consumed by the thought of Mike and trying to think of a way to get him out. But sometimes he forgets. He’ll watch a movie he thinks Mike would like and he picks up his cell to text Mike about it. Or he’ll be on his way to meet with a client and nearly tell his driver Mike’s address so he can pick Mike up on his way to the meeting.

And it’s like losing him all over again.

 

 

*

 

 

Mike has been in prison for over six months when his birthday arrives.

Harvey makes sure he’s at the prison in time for the start of visiting hours, a small box in his hands. Technically he’s not supposed to bring any food in, but the inmates aren’t the only ones who can bribe a guard or two.

When Mike enters the visiting room he smiles at Harvey, crossing the room to give him a brief hug. “You came.”

Harvey chuckles as they pull back. “I’ve been visiting you every week since you got here. Did you think your birthday would be the time I’d decide to stop?”

“Guess not,” Mike says shyly. “Still, I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.”

They sit at the table, and Harvey pushes the box towards Mike. He looks at Harvey for a moment, like he knows what’s inside but doesn’t want to open it in case he’s wrong. Finally Mike does, lifting the lid to find a small cake inside. It’s caramel mud - Mike’s favorite - and on the top in writing that is small but still covers the whole top of the cake are the words  _ happy birthday trouble _ .

Mike barks out a laugh when he sees it. And then he looks up at Harvey and whispers, “Thank you,” in a voice that sounds overly touched given that it’s just a cake. Still, Harvey has come to expect mood swings from Mike, and he thinks on his birthday he’s probably feeling extra emotional, so Harvey doesn’t comment, just smiles and pulls out two plastic forks in a ziploc bag from his suit pocket.

They chat about random things as they eat. Mike has been studying, of all things, the science of fermentation - “ _ Why _ ?” “Because I like to read.” - so he tells Harvey some of the more interesting things he’s learned.

“Wouldn’t be a bad life,” Mike concludes after he eats the last bite of cake, “owning a winery. Living off the land, all the space and air and sunshine, surrounded by nature.”

A picture alights in Harvey’s mind then, an unbidden vision of the two of them at a winery in Sonoma, working all day together in the sun, covered in dirt and dust, before returning to their sandstone manor for a well earned dinner and an early night in. He shakes the thought away as best he can, but does allow himself to admit out loud, “No, not a bad life at all.”

“I think Rachel’s going to break up with me,” Mike says, and Harvey whips his head up at this shocking non-sequitur.

“What?”

Mike shrugs. “I haven’t seen her for two weeks, and she hasn’t called once. But even before that I could feel her pulling away.”

He sounds so resigned, so matter of fact about the possibility of ending a relationship with the woman who was meant to be his wife. Harvey thinks he should try to tell Mike he’s overreacting, that Rachel has just been busy but of course she still wants to be with him. Or he should try and offer some words of comfort, to say he’s better off without her. But with too many thoughts swirling in his head not one single idea makes it out, instead Harvey just says, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Mike tells him.

The words feel like a lie.

 

 

*

 

 

The topic doesn’t come up again until several months later, when Mike calls him to say he doesn’t want Harvey to visit for a while. Harvey of course protests but in truth he doesn’t protest too hard. Because even though Mike never says it they both know there’s only one reason why he would want to be alone right now.

Rachel has broken up with him.

Harvey’s instinct is to march straight down to her office and ream her out for breaking Mike’s heart, but as much as he’d like to even he can recognize it’s not really his place. So he does the next best thing and dominates his next meeting before taking Donna out for dinner and drinks.

“Anyone would think you were the one that just got dumped,” Donna says as Harvey orders his third scotch.

“Don’t,” Harvey warns.

“I’m just saying. I know how you really feel about Mike and Rachel’s relationship. I’m surprised you aren’t celebrating right now.”

“Mike has been in prison for ten months and his fiancé just broke up with him. What’s to celebrate?”

Donna regards him for a few moments, as though she has just received a new piece of information and her mind is recalculating everything she thought she knew.

“Huh,” she says, surprised.

“What?” Harvey asks, not really sure he wants an answer.

But then Donna shrugs, taking another bite of her lobster risotto and seemingly dropping the subject. Harvey’s grateful. He’s not sure he has the strength for Donna’s particular brand of omniscience tonight.

 

 

*

 

 

Harvey thinks waiting three days to talk to Rachel about it is quite restrained given the circumstances. He even waits until the rush of the day is over and the building starts to thin out so they will be allowed their privacy.

He heads to Rachel’s office, not even certain if she’ll be there, she’s so often absent from the firm these days. He doesn’t know if he’s relieved or disappointed when she’s in her office. He doesn’t knock, just opens the door and closes it behind him.

When Rachel looks up and sees him her face is one of resignation. “I was wondering how long it would take you to come see me. I’m surprised it took this long actually.”

Harvey sits down opposite her and says, “I didn’t come here to fight or reprimand you. I just want to talk.”

“Why? What does me and Mike breaking up have to do with you?”

Harvey just looks at her then. She of all people should know anything that happens to Mike is his concern. They stare at each other across the desk for a moment and then Rachel laughs. “Right. It’s Mike, of course you’re involved. You were involved with us getting together, why shouldn’t you have a say in our breakup.”

“What are you talking about?” he asks, genuinely confused.

“Mike never told you?”

“Told me what?”

Rachel sets down her pen and leans back in her chair, regarding Harvey thoughtfully. “The day we slept together for the first time, he was rebounding from you. You were fighting over something, I don’t even remember what, but it was bad. Worse than normal. He thought he’d lost you for good, I do remember that much. And then we started fighting and he told me that he’d lost everyone that he loved: Trevor, his grandmother, and  _ you _ . And then we slept together. Because he’d lost the last person that he loved and he just wanted to feel connected to somebody. Anybody. And I was there.”

Harvey had no idea, and now that he knows, he doesn’t know what to do with this information. It shouldn’t matter, because Mike and Rachel have been together since then, so the circumstances around how they got together shouldn’t make a difference. And really, he knows exactly how that feels. When Mike went to prison and the firm fell apart it was chaos personified for nearly forty-eight hours straight, but when it all calmed down enough for them to go home Harvey didn’t. He went out to a bar and half an hour later he and a woman whose name he can barely remember were fucking desperately in the bathroom stalls.

So yeah, he isn’t going to judge Mike for anything

“So why did you break it off?” Harvey asks, not giving in to Rachel’s baiting by replying to her previous statement.

“There were lots of reasons.”

“Name one.”

Rachel glances away. “Being away from him is  _ so  _ hard.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Harvey says, his voice rising before he can stop himself.

“On the contrary, I know you do. I know you miss him as much as I do, maybe even more. Have you ever thought about that? About what it means that you miss my fiancé more than I do?”

In the quiet moments in the darkness of his condo the thought may have crossed his mind once or twice, but he’s never allowed himself to dwell on it. “What does that have to do with you breaking up with him?”

“Nothing. Leaving Mike was my decision, and I had my reasons. You have no idea what it’s like, trying to build my own career when the only thing anyone thinks when they look at me is ‘ _ you knew the truth _ ’. I love Mike, I always will, but I’ve wanted to be a lawyer for longer than I’ve known him, and I don’t think I can have both. But I won’t deny that knowing Mike has you made it easier. I want nothing but the best for him. But with everything else in my life he can’t be my priority anymore. And he deserves someone who can put him above everything else in a way I never could.”

 

 

*

 

 

Harvey gives Mike another week, and then goes to see him. He doesn’t call first, just shows up during weekend visiting hours. He isn’t sure if Mike will even agree to meet him, and he taps his thumb nervously on the table as he waits.

When Mike walks into the room Harvey can’t help the sigh of relief at seeing him. “Hey, trouble,” Harvey says, and Mike lets out a light laugh.

They meet in the middle of the room in a quick hug before sliding into their respective seats.

“I’m sorry I missed your birthday,” Mike says.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Did you celebrate?”

Harvey had spent most of his birthday in his pajamas, lounging on the couch, until Jessica called him under the pretext of a client emergency and she took him out to dinner. It was a good evening, even if it felt a little hollow.

“Jessica and I had dinner together. It was a low-key day really.”

“You didn’t party it up, paint the town red?”

“Not this year.”

Mike looks at Harvey for a few moments. The air feels thick with everything they aren’t saying. “I’m really okay, Harvey.”

“Did you want to talk about it?”

Mike shakes his head. “There’s nothing to say.”

Harvey doesn’t think that’s entirely true. “Of course there is. Rachel-”

“Rachel did what she thought was right for her. And truthfully it’s probably for the best. Every step in our relationship was a struggle - we couldn’t even get married like we were supposed to - and as much as I don’t want to admit it I don’t think we were right for each other.”

Harvey nods thoughtfully. He doesn’t want to argue with Mike, but he can’t help but wonder if he’s telling the truth or just what he thinks Harvey wants to hear. It’s not much of a secret that Harvey wasn’t thrilled when Mike and Rachel got together, but more than anything Harvey cares about Mike’s happiness, and so he stood back, tried to be as supportive of them as he could. And he could tell Mike really loved her. He’s not sure Mike could be as well-adjusted about being dumped while  _ in prison _ as he’s letting on.

“Is there anything I can do?” Harvey asks.

“Just be my friend. And … promise you won’t leave me like she did.”

“I won’t,” Harvey promises. “Not ever.”

“Okay, time’s up,” a guard announces.

Mike gives Harvey a weak smile. “Tell me to stay out of trouble.”

Harvey grins at him. “Stay out of trouble.”

 

 

*

 

 

Harvey can’t believe it’s been a year since Mike went into prison.

Though the scandal is by no means forgotten, the new Pearson Specter Litt have had some big wins and signed some important clients, so they’ve moved past Mike’s fraud as best as they could have hoped.

Harvey spends the day at home, eating bad food and drinking too much and hating himself for getting Mike into this mess in the first place.

He still hasn’t come up with a plan to get Mike out - well, not one that’s worked anyway - but God knows he’s going to keep trying.

 

 

*

 

 

“A new inmate arrived yesterday. I think he’s about twelve years old.”

Harvey laughs. “What’s he in for?”

“Fraud.”

Harvey can already tell where this is going. “So you’re going to take him under your wing?”

Mike makes a thoughtful noise. “Still to be determined. I don’t wanna make any moves that are going to make things more difficult for me. Is that selfish?”

Harvey shakes his head. “It’s smart. You’re over halfway through, Mike. You do whatever it takes to get to the end of your sentence whole and unharmed.”

“I knew you’d say that,” Mike says, smiling. “But still, sometimes I worry…”

Mike looks away then, and Harvey can tell that whatever it is that it’s serious. “Go on,” Harvey prompts when Mike stays silent too long.

“Sometimes I worry that this place has changed me. A year ago I wouldn’t have hesitated. Now…” Mike looks down at his hands, which are twisting together on the tabletop. “What if when I leave this place I’m not that man that came in? What if I’m so far gone that even you won’t recognize me anymore?”

He sounds genuinely afraid of it, and Harvey understands why. Places like this change people, especially people as good as Mike. But if there’s one thing Harvey knows it’s that Mike will always be his favorite person, and nothing that happens to Mike in here will change that.

“Mike, listen to me,” Harvey says urgently, sitting forward in his chair. Mike very reluctantly meets his eyes. “I’m not going to let that happen. Yes, this version of you maybe isn’t the best one, but it’s temporary. It’s so you can get out of here and go back to being the person that you truly are.”

“How can you be so certain?” Mike asks, like he wants to believe Harvey but needs some kind of justification first.

Harvey smiles then. “Because I know you. And that’s enough.”

 

 

*

 

 

“So our in-house investigator quit this week,” Harvey says.

Mike furrows his eyebrows. “Isn’t this the one that only started like a month ago.”

“Yup.”

“What happened?”

Harvey shrugs. “I suspect another firm offered him more money than we were paying.”

“Didn’t you have him under contract?” At Harvey’s look Mike chuckles and says, “Of course you did.”

“Contracts only mean something when you’re willing to go after someone who has broken theirs. Given that we’re still rebuilding our reputation, we decided to let it go.”

“Fair enough. Still, that sucks.”

Harvey nods. He doesn’t know how to bring this up, if this is something Mike will even want to hear. But still, Mike has been in here for over half of his sentence now (as evidenced by his frankly awful hair which, for some reason, Mike has let grow out) and he needs to start thinking about the future.

“So, Jessica and I were talking.”

“Yeah? How are things with the venerable Ms. Pearson?”

“Oh she’s still kicking ass and taking names.”

“Good to know some things never change,” Mike grins.

“But we were talking and … how would you feel about becoming our in-house investigator once you’re out?”

Mike is visibly surprised. “Are you serious?”

Harvey nods.

“ _ No _ . Fuck, of course not, why would you even ask me that? What the hell is wrong with you?”

Okay, so Harvey can admit this isn’t at all the reaction he was expecting. “Why not?” he asks, completely shocked.

“Harvey, you didn’t pursue your last investigator breaking their contract because you’re still trying to rebuild your reputation. The second you hire me - for  _ anything  _ \- everything you’ve ever done to claw your way back since I got in here goes straight out the window. I’m not going to do that to you. I won’t bring you down again.”

“But you won’t be a fraud this time. You can get a PI license, it will be completely legitimate.”

“No,” Mike says, shaking his head vigorously. “I can’t. I won’t. Please don’t ask me to.”

“Okay,” Harvey says, voice low and urgent. “Okay. I won’t bring it up again. On the condition that if you change your mind you let me know.”

“Fine,” Mike grits out, and though Harvey still has hope of him changing his mind, he doesn’t have much of it.

 

 

*

 

 

When Donna walks into his office she looks like she’s seen a ghost.

“What is it?” he asks nervously.

“Damen Strand is on the phone for you.”

Harvey wouldn’t say he dives for the phone, but it’s a near thing. Damen is an old friend who has a contact in the Bureau of Prisons that he’s been working, and Harvey prays to a God he doesn’t even believe in that he has good news.

He picks up the phone and tries to pretend he isn’t a little breathless as he says, “Damen.”

“Harvey.”

“Please tell me you have good news.”

There’s a pause, and Harvey can practically hear the smile in Damen’s voice when he says, “I have good news.”

 

 

*

 

 

Harvey paces the visiting room. He swears the guards are just screwing with him at this point, like they saw Harvey’s happy face when he walked into the prison and thought ‘we can’t have someone be here and be happy at the same time’. Such behavior would piss him off on any other day, but Harvey is so jubilant nothing can spoil this day. From the moment he hung up with Damen and left the office, and all through the eighty minute drive, Harvey couldn’t wipe the smile from his face.

He can’t remember the last time he was this happy.

Finally Mike arrives and Harvey’s happiness somehow confuses Mike. He waits until the guard has closed the door, leaving them alone, and asks, somewhat suspiciously, “What is it?”

“I know a guy who knows a guy in the Bureau of Prisons. I used every ounce of influence and persuasion I have and it worked,” Harvey says, still grinning.

“What worked?”

Harvey takes a step forward. “Mike, he’s going to let you out of here on good behavior. After serving for  _ fifteen months _ .”

Harvey might not have Mike’s or even Louis’ gift for numbers, but as soon as Damen told him, Harvey - who had been counting down every day until Mike’s release - was able to quickly do the math. But now Mike stands there, looking at Harvey like he’s speaking a language he can’t understand, and Harvey can’t help but worry that Mike’s time in here is affecting him in other ways. But then his face brightens, and the old Mike is back.

“That’s six months earlier than my actual good behavior release date,” Mike says, utterly wondrous.

“I know.”

“That’s in less than  _ two months _ .”

Harvey just nods. And then Mike lets out a noise halfway between a laugh and a sob and he throws himself at Harvey, who catches him with ease, arms wrapped tightly around Mike’s waist. Mike feels so much smaller than he did when he went in, and it just makes Harvey all the more glad that they’re getting him out of here soon.

“Thank you,” Mike whispers in his ear, the word thick with tears, and it’s the release Harvey needs. The whole time Mike has been in here he’s never allowed himself to break down, not really, and for the first time he can feel his eyes well with tears. They aren’t tears of anguish but of relief, and he squeezes Mike tighter, the two of them just holding each other and sharing this moment of profound solace.

“Okay you two, that’s enough,” a guard says, but Mike doesn’t let go, so Harvey certainly won’t be the first to. Mike just holds tighter, pressing his face into Harvey’s neck.

“I said  _ that’s enough _ ,” the guard repeats, much more sternly this time.

When Mike doesn't move the guard comes to bodily pull Mike away. Clearly pissed, he doesn’t let Mike go, and as the guard drags him out of the room Mike calls, “I love you! I love you, I love you, I love you.”

 

 

*

 

 

Harvey’s next few visits are so much brighter now that they know there are only a few of them left. Every time Harvey visits he asks Mike what he wants to do when he leaves prison, but Mike never says. For four consecutive visits whenever Harvey asks Mike changes the subject.

On the fifth visit he finally answers.

“What if I told you I can’t have what I want?”

Harvey, who knows how much Mike wanted to be a lawyer, how it was the only thing he ever truly wanted, suddenly tenses, worried Mike is going to tell him something that Harvey can’t give him. Because as much as Harvey would give him the world if he could, he can’t actually make Mike a real lawyer.

“Why’s that?” Harvey asks carefully.

“I want to leave. Not permanently,” he hastily adds, seemingly at Harvey’s blanching. “Just, I’m not sure I can go back to New York straight away. Not after everything that happened - getting caught, Rachel leaving, all of it. It’s going to have too many memories, and I’m not sure I can deal with that. I need a break for a while, some time to decompress and breathe freely.”

Harvey gets it, but what he’s less sure of is why Mike thinks he can’t have that. Because he’s not only Mike’s friend and lawyer, but he has power of attorney, and he knows how much money Mike has saved up.

“Okay. But why can’t you have that?”

Mike looks away from him then. “Because I want it with you.”

 

 

*

 

 

“Jessica, we need to talk.”

Jessica puts the file she’s working on aside and says, “Is this you coming to ask me for time off? Because if so, I’m surprised you managed to wait this long.”

Jessica is grinning at him, and Harvey lets out a relieved chuckle, collapsing onto the couch opposite her.

“How did you know?”

“Because I’m not an idiot. We all know how much you’ve missed him, how hard you’ve fought to get him out of there. Of course you’re going to want some time off to spend with Mike once he’s released.”

“Thank you,” he says, because really, in the grand scheme of things fifteen months isn’t that long when it comes to trying to revive a business, and as name partner he probably shouldn't be disappearing for a few weeks. But, just as she said, Jessica isn’t an idiot, and she’s probably decided that her choices are to either let him go or tell him no but then deal with him disappearing for days at a time anyway.

She definitely made the right choice.

“I have one condition though,” Jessica tells him.

“Okay,” Harvey says, because he’s pretty much willing to agree to anything at this point.

“My condition is that you come back. Promise me you two won’t elope or some shit and leave me here with Louis as my only partner, because I can’t deal with that man by myself.”

Harvey considers for a brief moment protesting the very idea that he and Mike would end up together like that, but he’s never been very good at lying to her. So he just nods and says, “I promise.”

 

 

*

 

 

The days leading up to Mike’s release somehow seem to drag on despite Harvey being insanely busy trying to get everything either finalized or redistributed before he takes his vacation time.

He has to call Mike and tell him he won’t be able to visit for a while. He was worried about Mike’s reaction, and didn’t expect the unabashed laughter he got in return.

“Harvey, since I got in here you haven’t gone more than a week without visiting me - the post break up time notwithstanding - so I really don’t think I can get mad about you not being able to make it in now, not when I’m almost out of here.”

Finally, after too many long days working and nights where he couldn’t sleep for the excitement and anticipation running through his veins, the day finally arrives.

Harvey had called in one last favor and made sure Mike is the first prisoner released that day. So when he gets out of bed from a fitful night's sleep he doesn’t even have breakfast, he just packs a couple of bags and heads down to the garage and the car he’d picked up yesterday in order to save some time today. The drive to the prison is the same as it’s always been - Harvey’s lost track of how many times he’s made this drive, though he’s sure Mike could probably tell him - but it still seems to take forever.

The parking lot is practically deserted, and Harvey gets out of the car and waits.

Finally, the moment they’ve been waiting fifteen months for arrives as Mike walks out of the prison. He’s wearing the same suit he had on from the day of the aborted wedding, and it hangs slightly looser on his frame now. Even so, Mike looks amazing, and he smiles brightly when he sees Harvey.

“Hey trouble,” Harvey grins as Mike walks through the last wire gate, and it closes behind Mike with a loud clang. That’s it, he’s out, and he’s never fucking going back in.

If Mike is having similar thoughts Harvey can’t tell. He doesn’t look back at the building, just keeps his eyes fixed on Harvey, and when he’s a few steps away he drops his bag of personal items onto the ground so he can take Harvey’s face in his hands and kiss him.

Harvey can’t deny he’s surprised, but it only lasts for a moment. And then he’s kissing Mike back, pouring all the love and relief he’s feeling into the embrace. His hands press into Mike’s hips and Mike doesn’t hesitate in deepening the kiss, kissing Harvey desperately. Harvey has no idea how long they stand there making out like the cliché they apparently are, but when they finally break away Mike presses his forehead to Harvey’s. And before Harvey can overthink it and talk himself out of it he says, “I love you.”

Mike pulls back then so he can look Harvey in the eyes. He smiles slowly at Harvey, and after saying, “I love you too,” he presses a soft kiss on Harvey’s lips.

And the feeling of Mike’s lips on his own is never going to get old.

“So,” Mike says, moving around Harvey to lean on the hood of the car. “What now?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Harvey smirks. “It’s entirely up to you of course, but if you still wanted, we can get out of here.”

Harvey didn’t think it was possible for Mike to brighten any more, but he does, practically vibrating with excitement. “Are you serious?”

Harvey nods. “I’ve packed us some bags, we can go wherever you want - within the US of course. So, what’ll it be? Check out all those wineries you were reading about in California? Lie on a beach in Hawaii? Go check out all the theme parks in Florida like the five year old you secretly are? Anything you want.”

Mike’s smile starts to fade, and Harvey worries he’s made some kind of tactical error, or maybe even come on too strong. This should be a day for celebrating, not for whatever is causing the current expression on Mike’s face.

“What is it?” Harvey asks worriedly.

“I guess … it’s been so long since I’ve actually been able to make any kind of decision of my own, about anything. I think I’m a little rusty.” He lets out a hollow laugh. “Guess that place screwed me over in more ways than I realized, huh?”

“It’s okay,” Harvey says soothingly, because he doesn’t want Mike to worry, not about anything. “It’s going to be an adjustment, we knew that already.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think I wouldn’t be able to choose where to go on vacation with the man who got me through the worst fifteen months of my life. I should be able to pick somewhere without worrying about whether or not it’s the right choice and wondering what awful consequences could come out of my decision.”

“Hey,” Harvey says, stepping between Mike’s legs and cupping his face gently. “Nothing bad is going to happen. I won’t let it. You’re safe, and you’re free, and you can start living your life again. And you and I will never be separated again.”

“You promise?” Mike asks, finally starting to smile again.

“I promise. And as for the trip, LaGuardia is just over an hour away. Think about it while I drive, and if you still can’t decide once we get there then we can flip a coin.”

Mike lets out a deep breath. “Okay.”

“So,” Harvey says, leaning in and giving Mike a quick kiss, “wanna go get into some trouble?”

Mike laughs loudly, and oh how Harvey has missed that sound. “I’ve had enough trouble for a lifetime. But if you're asking if I’m ready to get out of here, never look back, and go enjoy an amazing vacation with you … well, lead the way.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://tattooedsiren.tumblr.com/) if you wanna say hi.


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